As per the title, has anyone else noticed with this recent snap of cold weather that their TDI starts quicker & more reliably at -10°C than it does at +10°C?

 

My car suffers occaisonally from the 5-10s dead cranking before it will start which seems to be getting more often as it gets older.

Now that the cold weather has arrived, it starts almost instantly at -10°C without even half a revolution before firing up.

 

I think it proves this issue is not really mechanical issue, just poor calibration/software control of the injection during starting at normal temperatures.

12 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

As per the title, has anyone else noticed with this recent snap of cold weather that their TDI starts quicker & more reliably at -10°C than it does at +10°C?

 

My car suffers occaisonally from the 5-10s dead cranking before it will start which seems to be getting more often as it gets older.

Now that the cold weather has arrived, it starts almost instantly at -10°C without even half a revolution before firing up.

 

I think it proves this issue is not really mechanical issue, just poor calibration/software control of the injection during starting at normal temperatures.

Maybe a temperature sensor is not as accurate as it used to be and takes really cold weather to activate proper cold start procedure with glow plug?

 

 

had a new battery fitted  a couple of weeks ago and the problem has disappeared (so far )  

I've been wondering if other people had this! Mine is a slug to start when it's about 4-8 degrees, but it fired straight up this morning at -9 degrees! Strange.

And at -24°C like this morning it is a bit loud and harsh.

I noticed the same thing. Same procedure but easier starting in colder weather.

 

Although since cold weather started, the engine stop/start seems to fail on first time in a few instances because I only released the brake, didn't apply any accelerator. So I had to turned it off.

3 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Maybe a temperature sensor is not as accurate as it used to be and takes really cold weather to activate proper cold start procedure with glow plug?

 

Glow plugs are still working at warmer températures because you see the short delay on the dash board before starting.

I'm sure its just the injectors don't actually deliver anything when it cranks for a long time because there's no splutters or coughs or sounds of combustion, just starter whirr.

Then when it starts, it starts quickly like normal.

And at the same temperature, some days it starts perfectly, others it take 2s, sometimes 5s. its a little bit random as it doesnt do it always.

Edited 28 February, 20188 yr by Gabbo

2 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

I've been wondering if other people had this! Mine is a slug to start when it's about 4-8 degrees, but it fired straight up this morning at -9 degrees! Strange.

 

Its been something around since the beginning with no clear solution.

There are a couple of old threads where people reported that the dealer offered them a SW update for the ECU to correct this starting behaviour.

It worked for some, working initially for others & made no difference for others.

 

I asked my dealer about the update (there was a thread with a photo of the TSB/update number) & he said there were none shown in the system which were applicable to my engine & therefore he couldnt do anything.

 

Most of the time its ok, but theres the odd time where it cranks for 5-10s & you can see everyone looking at you laughing thats what happens why you buy a Skoda...

Dealers are useless, I asked the same and they are not willing to do anything (free or paid) unless it is linked to your car's VIN. Other route is to pay the diagnostic fee for some numpty to take a full day to glance at your car and tell you exactly what you already knew: nothing wrong with the car.

 

My last and only Skoda for sure.

@johnrowley 's comment about a new battery fixing the problem for him is interesting.

The power loss during changeover would have been an involuntary reboot for the ECU.

First thing you do on any computer that starts playing up.

I am also surprised how quickly it starts in cold weather. 

On ‎28‎.‎02‎.‎2018 at 23:52, Gerrycan said:

@johnrowley 's comment about a new battery fixing the problem for him is interesting.

The power loss during changeover would have been an involuntary reboot for the ECU.

First thing you do on any computer that starts playing up.

 

These days ECUs use flash & eeprom memory which is maintained without power so changing the battery shouldnt change anything in the ECU.

However, when changing a battery some kind of programming is required which maybe also asks the operator to reset some of the other systems at the same time.

 

1 hour ago, Gabbo said:

However, when changing a battery some kind of programming is required which maybe also asks the operator to reset some of the other systems at the same time.

Many modules will log a fault code of low voltage when you change the battery, so those fault codes need to be cleared as well as telling the battery management module that you have fitted a new battery.